Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

Impacts of earlier emerging steelhead fry of hatchery origin on the social structure, distribution, and growth of wild steelhead fry

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  • Newly emerged steelhead fry (Oncorhynchus mvkiss) of hatchery and wild origins were studied in laboratory stream channels and natural streams. Objectives of the study were to determine if and how earlier emerging hatchery fry influence the emigration, realized densities, growth, habitat use, social structure, and activity patterns of localized populations of wild steelhead fry when the hatchery fry have a competitive advantage conferred by larger size and prior residence. During 1986 and 1987, the above variables were observed daily among hatchery and wild steelhead fry in laboratory stream channels for 8 weeks following emergence in June. The habitat use and social activities for fry of both origins were observed weekly in natural stream reaches from June through August in 1987 to corroborate lab findings. In lab channels, both hatchery and wild fry received 2 treatments: living alone (allopatry) and living together (sympatry). In the lab, fry of hatchery origin emerged 7 to 10 d prior to wild fry and remained larger in size during the 8 weeks of study both years. In natural stream reaches, fry of each origin were observed only in allopatric situations. Wild fry in the field emerged from natural redds while hatchery fry were released in stream reaches as unfed, newly emerged (swim-up) fry. Hatchery and wild fry in lab sections were found to be very similar in their emigration rates, distances to nearest neighbor, growth rates, and use of habitat. Both fry types, regardless of treatment or environment (lab or field), established similar stable social structure and used the same types of aggressive acts. Among all lab groups, once a fry became dominant, it retained that social status to the end of the study period. Significant differences (P<.05 both years) among comparison tests were: 1) in allopatric lab sections, wild fry maintained larger densities than hatchery fry, 2) in sympatry, hatchery fry had a greater tendency to establish stable focal points and social hierarchies more readily, defend larger areas, have better condition, prefer pools with overhead cover more frequently, be more aggressive, and reach stable densities more quickly than the wild fry, 3) fewer hatchery fry in sympatry maintained nomadic positions than wild fry in both treatments, 4) in sympatry, hatchery fry directed more acts of overt aggression toward wild fry than other hatchery fry, 5) wild fry in sympatry usually used defensive or less offensive acts of aggression when interacting with other fry, 6) fry of both origins in natural stream reaches maintained greater distances to their nearest neighbor than fry in allopatric lab sections, 7) dominant hatchery fry in both treatments maintained larger focal areas than subdominant fry, 8) hatchery fry maintained longer lengths than wild fry through the duration of the study, and 9) hatchery fry were more aggressive in sympatry than in allopatry. Potential differences (P<.05 in one year and P<.1 in the other year) were: 1) wild fry in sympatry had lower realized densities, maintained smaller focal areas, had greater proportions of nomadic individuals, and established stable social hierarchies slower than wild fry in allopatric lab sections, 2) wild fry in sympatry had poorer condition than all other fry groups in lab sections, 3) in sympatry, wild fry were the recipients of the majority of aggressive acts perpetrated by hatchery fry and other wild fry and usually assumed the subordinate positions within the social hierarchy, 4) all fry in the lab showed a high preference for pools with overhead cover and low preference for gravel and fines and run areas, and 5) wild fry in allopatric lab sections were more socially active than hatchery fry while the reverse was observed in the natural streams. Any influences that could be attributed to inherent differences between stock origins were probably masked by size differences between fry types. The study would have been more complete had I included sympatric lab sections where wild fry emerged first and where fry types emerged simultaneously, and sympatric reaches in natural streams. Results were further confounded by the limited number of wild adults used for broodstock in the lab segment of this study. Progeny produced from so few adults (5 adults of each sex each year) would have very limited genotypic variation compared to what occurs in natural streams. This may partially explain why some findings from lab sections and natural stream reaches differed. Likewise, genotypic expression among wild fry in lab sections may have varied greatly between years. This could explain differences found between years in behavior of wild fry in similar lab treatments. Although this study does not simulate all possible scenarios, results support suspicions that introductions of hatchery fry of larger size and earlier emergence into streams containing wild stocks could disrupt the social structure and negatively influence the realized densities, spatial distribution, growth, and behavior of wild juveniles in recipient streams.
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